Yuji Nagata

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Childs]

I've rarely found Nagata interesting, but I've been watching this year's G1 lately, and I quite enjoyed his match with Nakamura. Nagata gave an appealing performance as the fired up old man, trying for a big upset. The crowd really treated it like a main event even though it was what, fourth from top?

[dawho5]

Nagata is an odd one. When he got his first really big push he was clearly uncomfortable with the role he had to play. But when you get to 2007 (could have been before) he's grown into it and is really, really entertaining as the fired-up asskicker whenever somebody disrespects him. His best matches are against either Tanahashi (who the Hell does this guy think he is, anyway?) or anyone who cheats a lot and/or uses weapons to get the advantage. That riles Nagata up quick and makes for a fun watch.

[Shining Wiz]

To spur discussion: Is Nagata underrated because his peak came during a very low period for New Japan, or is he overrated as having been an Ace when the company really sucked at the time?

[Childs]

I'm not sure the company's strength during his run is all that relevant. In going through the 2000s, I've found that I probably underrated him a little bit. He could get generic with the fighting spirit shit, but in other cases, his intensity made great matches where they had no business existing. I'm thinking of his '07 bloodbath with Makabe, but there were others. I don't think he'll make my 100. But he's a guy I really disliked at one time, and that's no longer the case.

[JazeUSA]

any match recommendations for him? Ive seen WCW stuff & a few random matches from the last year or two but thats about it

[WingedEagle]

vs. Mutoh '01 G1, vs. Suzuki at the '13 Tokyo Dome. w/ Iizuka vs. Kawada & Fuchi '00.

[W2BTD]

Nagata as a cocky heel feuding with Stack of Arms and invading All Japan a coupe of years ago is some of his best work that gets no attention due to the state of All Japan at the time.

[van_Fair]

To spur discussion: Is Nagata underrated because his peak came during a very low period for New Japan, or is he overrated as having been an Ace when the company really sucked at the time?

I'd say he is somewhat underrated. Inoki's ownership of the company really held New Japan down in the early 2000's. Pretty much everything he tried did not work. You could put Nagata in the same category, but I think he was just unlucky.

Nevertheless Nagata has put together an impressive catalog of matches in my opinion and he definitely warrants consideration for the top 100.

[dawho5]

I think the biggest thing working against him is that by the time he was comfortable with the role he had been given, it was time to pass the torch to Tanahashi and start to fade into the background. Not necessarily right away, but he only got a year or two to be top dog after settling into the character of Yuji Nagata that NJPW wanted. Who knows, if Inoki isn't such a mark for shooters Nagata may have had a way better peak with a gimmick/character he was comfortable with at the time.

[GOTNW]

I disliked Nagata when I first started watching puro, mainly due to him not being as good as I'd heard he was and his goofy selling which was Kawada-esque but seemed more like a poor parody of it than anything. He's got a strong body of work but he's not one you'd expect to see a transcendental performance from. I could probably think of many guys whom I like more and who I think are better than Nagata that I won't consider as strongly as him mainly because they don't have the volume of work he does. I think he chose a pretty great place to work at, even if he did have to eat a Cro Cop High Kick because of it.

[Timbo Slice]

He's had some really effective times over his career where he shined, but overall, I don't think it was a great career. The AJPW/NJPW stuff was fine in 2000-2001, but what Joe said about him against AJPW a few years back as keeper of the Backdrop Hold spiking young punks on Jumbo's old turf might have been his best work. I did like the Akiyama stuff, and he does have the Taue match under his belt (along with the underrated '01 match he had with Kaz Fujita) but I don't think it's Top 100 material.

[Microstatistics]

Initially I was skeptical since he has goofy tendencies but now I'm starting to think Nagata was one of the best Japanese workers of the 2000s. Just a really good/great match machine, operating against an impressive array of opponents. The 2007 Makabe match is the standout IMO but stuff vs. Murakami, Sasaki, Taue, Tanahashi, Bernard etc. ranges from worth checking out to must-see. His 2010s were solid as well so Top 50 is not out of the question.

[Boss Rock]

Even though his output has diminished due to being an undercard guy now, Nagata is still very good. I've also enjoyed most of what I've seen out of his 00's work, so he seems like a lock to me.

[elliott]

Worst elbow strikes ever?

[Tetsujin]

Not even close. Okada has that privilege.

[Microstatistics]

3 hours ago, elliott said:

Worst elbow strikes ever?

Busting Makabe hardway disqualifies him I think.

[elliott]

That Makabe match is awesome. So that's fair. 

[Clayton Jones]

On 5/24/2021 at 10:12 PM, Microstatistics said:

Initially I was skeptical since he has goofy tendencies but now I'm starting to think Nagata was one of the best Japanese workers of the 2000s. Just a really good/great match machine, operating against an impressive array of opponents. The 2007 Makabe match is the standout IMO but stuff vs. Murakami, Sasaki, Taue, Tanahashi, Bernard etc. ranges from worth checking out to must-see. His 2010s were solid as well so Top 50 is not out of the question.

Agreed completely. He also had some great matches VS Kanemoto in a period when junior VS heavyweight was rarely done well or focused on in NJPW. Also watched a really quality match VS Malenko in WCW lately. And on the opposite end of the spectrum as well as being the best Prince Albert opponent he was also great VS Takayama as far as big men go. Nagata just keeps rewarding the more I go back to him, I'll be surprised if when I focus on him for GWE my stock in him doesn't continue to rise.

[Ma Stump Puller]

I think one aspect of Nagata's career that gets overlooked a lot is his NOAH runs. In them, Nagata plays a babyface fighting against the odds and a invading force with one of the smuggest auras I've seen, both excellently while making sure to get over his opponents a ton. His first run has him have a underwhelming bout with Kobashi but also some great hard hitting action against some of their biggest stars, never feeling lesser than them in the process (well, outside of the Kobashi bout, but no one thought he was going to win that anyway) as well as his short lived GHC Tag title run that gets some great personality out of a fairly dry Tanahashi at the time.

His second is a complete different dynamic: Nagata is being phased out of the main event scene in NJPW, but also has to then has to do the opposite as NOAH's drastic downturn and lack of star power after Go's departure alongside many other powerhouses forces them to pull from wherever to fill places. He has to be a major Global League contender and then later on has to actually become GHC Champion because of this fact. Despite all of this going on, Nagata has a legit great run with the belt, excluding a shit match with Maybach. He's consistently having fun matches with whomever while also doing NJPW bookings in-between, which is pretty nuts if you ask me. In both of these runs, Nagata excels in his roles and manages to be a big workhorse, giving NOAH a proper heel as his title run goes further and further and he, in turn, gets more and more cocky. 

Here are some definitive suggestions for these runs. Highlighted are particular high points. 

1st Run

Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (17.02.2002)

Masao Inoue vs. Yuji Nagata (14.05.2003)

Akira Taue & Takashi Sugiura vs. Takuma Sano & Yuji Nagata (01.06.2003)

Akira Taue vs. Yuji Nagata (06.06.2003)

Jun Akiyama vs. Yuji Nagata (16.07.2003)

Kenta Kobashi vs. Yuji Nagata (12.09.2003: this is quite good, just not as perhaps interesting as it could have been)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tamon Honda (30.11.2003)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio (06.12.2003)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa (10.01.2004)

2nd Run

Jun Akiyama & KENTA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata (24.07.2010) 

Go Shiozaki vs. Yuji Nagata (03.11.2012)

KENTA vs. Yuji Nagata (17.11.2012)

Takashi Sugiura vs. Yuji Nagata (26.10.2013)

Takeshi Morishima vs. Yuji Nagata (10.11.2013)

KENTA vs. Yuji Nagata (07.12.2013)

Takashi Sugiura vs. Yuji Nagata (08.03.2014)

Mohammed Yone vs. Yuji Nagata (17.05.2014: this is a carryjob, but it is quite good regardless)

Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yuji Nagata (05.07.2014)

Chris Hero vs. Yuji Nagata (18.10.2014)

Mikey Nicholls vs. Yuji Nagata (21.10.2014)

Masato Tanaka vs. Yuji Nagata (04.11.2014)

Takashi Sugiura vs. Yuji Nagata (07.11.2014)

 

[Clayton Jones]

Watched a few matches from Nagata's 2011 AJPW run at the always prolific G Badger's recommendation, and then the February Miyahara match that I've read some buzz about. Certainly the best Miyahara match I've seen in a long time and a remarkable performance from a mid 50s Yuji. The 2011 stuff highlights the case a few people have made above, that Nagata has an impressively diverse career for someone who isn't really thought of that way. I will say one potential knock against him is that through all of it, through a lot of different characters and roles, he's usually still a very similar guy bell to bell in what I've seen. A trolling stagger sell here, a goofy prancing dance there, but I do wish that translated into the nuts and bolts of his matches a little more. Still he's one of the better Japanese wrestlers of the last two decades at structuring a match, whether it's a sprint, a blood feud, or a big title bout. He's an interesting candidate for certain that I feel like might have one the widest swings of how high or low he might land for me, only because I could see him pretty damn high.